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Stats back East Division's rep as toughest in league

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WILKES-BARRE - When the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins return from a three-game road trip to Norfolk and Hershey this weekend, they'll probably bring a few souvenirs with them.

Bruises. Scrapes. Maybe even some stitches.

The East Division has the reputation of being the toughest in the AHL, and the stats seem to back that up.

All five teams in the division are in the top 10 in the league in penalty minutes, led by the Penguins in fourth place at 21.98 per game. All five are in the top 12 in fighting majors, led by Norfolk in second place with 61.

"If you look at all the teams in the division, they play a heavy, hard style," coach John Hynes said. "There's guys on every team that fight. They're always physical, highly competitive contests."

THURSDAY'S MOVES

The Penguins got a player back from Pittsburgh on Thursday, when the parent club sent down center Zach Sill after a successful two month stay in the NHL. Sill had no points and 12 penalty minutes in 20 games as a fourth-line forward and penalty killer.

The Penguins did not, however, get forward Dustin Jeffrey back from the Dallas Stars. Pittsburgh declined to re-claim Jeffrey on waivers, so Dallas retains his rights and can assign him to the AHL's Texas Stars.

COMEBACK STORY

RW Adam Payerl is making progress in his return from an upper-body injury, skating a bit at the end of practice this week.

Hynes said Payerl is still considered week to week, not day to day, but given that his recovery time was estimated at three to four months when the injury occurred Nov. 30, it's a positive development for the second-year pro.

BATTLE OF BROTHERS

The recent line brawl between the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames could look like a grade-school picnic compared to a new NHL rivalry that is about to be born.

The Richards brothers worked together with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton from 2007-13.

STORM OF THE CENTURY

Norfolk is generally one of the better weather destinations in the AHL, just a few miles inland from Virginia Beach. Just not this week.

Two to four inches of snow fell in the Norfolk area on Tuesday night, which qualifies as a crippling storm in an area of the country not used to such weather. The Chesapeake division of the Virginia state police responded to 148 car accidents and 97 disabled vehicles from midnight Tuesday to 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

DETECTIVE STORY

The new HBO drama "True Detective," starring Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey, looks like it might be a hit, with more than 6 million people viewing the premiere episode.

What does this have to do with the Penguins? Glad you asked. The show's writer and creator, Nic Pizzolatto, is the brother-in-law of former Penguins forward Darcy Verot. The show is set in Louisiana, where Verot played for the Western Pro Hockey League's Lake Charles Ice Pirates from 1997-99 and met his wife, Nicole.

Jonathan Bombulie can be reached at jbombulie@citizensvoice.com or twitter.com/CVBombulie. His Friday Morning Faceoff notebook appears weekly.

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